Mikey Garcia, left, connects with a left to the face of Juan Manuel Lopez during their vacant WBO featherweight title bout at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday.

Photo: AFP

Mikey Garcia stopped Juan Manuel Lopez in the fourth round on Saturday, leaving the WBO featherweight title vacant after Garcia failed to make weight.

Garcia (32-0) weighed in at 128 pounds (58kg) on Friday, two pounds over the featherweight limit. Lopez weighed in at 125.5 pounds (57kg). Even though he tried to shed a couple pounds before the weigh-in, Garcia knew it was likely he was going to have to forfeit his title.

“The disappointment was there because I lost my title,” Garcia said. “I was crying a little bit because I knew I wasn’t the champion, but everybody got a chance to see I’m a good fighter. This was a satisfying victory.”

Garcia put Lopez on the ground with a strong left-handed blow 1 minute, 34 seconds into the fourth round for his 27th career knockout.

Lopez (33-3) would have regained the title with a win.

Garcia won the title from Orlando Salido on a unanimous decision in New York on Jan. 19. However, the title reign was short-lived after Garcia did not make weight.

The only two losses of Lopez’s career were to Salido. The first one cost him the WBO belt, and the second led to a one-year suspension by Puerto Rican boxing officials when he accused the referee who stopped the fight of betting on the match.

Lopez had won twice since his one-year ban ended, beating Aldimar Silva Santos in February and knocking out Eugenio Lopez in an undercard bout in Mexico City in April.

With a majority of fans chanting his name early, the 25-year-old Garcia came out and landed a series of jabs in the first round.

In the second round, Garcia knocked Lopez down with a right cross in the second round. Lopez quickly rose to his feet and completed out the round. Garcia finished off the 29-year-old Lopez two rounds later.

“I was able to land my jab and stand pretty comfortable,” Garcia said. “When I knocked him down, that gave me confidence that I could put him out early.”

Lopez appeared wobbly early in the fourth after Garcia landed a combination of punches. Garcia finished him off with a powerful left cross. Lopez slowly got up and referee Rafael Ramos quickly called the match.

On the undercard, Terence Crawford (21-0) won the vacant NABO lightweight title, stopping Alejandro Sanabria (34-2-1) in the sixth round. Crawford dropped Sanabria with a left hook 17 seconds into the round.

Sanabria got up, but the referee called the fight to give Crawford his 16th knockout victory.

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